A couple of questions

[midwifemia]

Hi,

I've been going round and round in circles trying to find answers to these questions with no luck - I hope someone here might be able to help me!

I am a British midwife who wants to immigrate to Canada. I have a Canadian boyfriend/common-law partner but for various complex reasons I'm not sure if he'll be able to sponsor me under the Family Class in the near future so I'm exploring other options and wondered if applying under the Skilled Worker class might be easier. I have a midwifery degree and 4 years full-time post-registration work experience. I have taken the self-assessment and have 74 points, so could apply, but I need to find out the answer to these questions: If I apply as a skilled worker for my midwifery qualification and experience, do I HAVE to get registered as a midwife when I arrive in Canada? From what I understand, it's a long and expensive process to get registered and I am not sure at present whether I want to work as a midwife in Canada anyway - would I have the option not to do it at all? Is it a requirement of your PR to work in the profession you are a skilled worker in? Can you just work another job instead? Who checks?

Plus, is it true that you need $10,000 to support yourself on entering the country if you arrive as a skilled worker? What can this consist of? I do not have any savings left as I have been travelling for 2 years in Canada and New Zealand, but have plenty of credit left on my credit cards and a couple of thousand pounds I could take out of my mortgage if I was desperate...

Thanks and looking forward to your answers.

Mia

[BobbyB]

Start from here: I am sure, a lot of your questions will be answered.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

Also, Search for, and download the OP6e.PDF and EG7.PDF and read them.

[BobbyB]

Hi,

I've been going round and round in circles trying to find answers to these questions with no luck - I hope someone here might be able to help me!

I am a British midwife who wants to immigrate to Canada. I have a Canadian boyfriend/common-law partner but for various complex reasons I'm not sure if he'll be able to sponsor me under the Family Class in the near future so I'm exploring other options and wondered if applying under the Skilled Worker class might be easier. I have a midwifery degree and 4 years full-time post-registration work experience. I have taken the self-assessment and have 74 points, so could apply, but I need to find out the answer to these questions: If I apply as a skilled worker for my midwifery qualification and experience, do I HAVE to get registered as a midwife when I arrive in Canada? YES From what I understand, it's a long and expensive process to get registered and I am not sure at present whether I want to work as a midwife in Canada anyway - would I have the option not to do it at all? YES Is it a requirement of your PR to work in the profession you are a skilled worker in? NO, once a PR you may do other survival jobs as wellCan you just work another job instead? YESWho checks?I do not think that anybody checks as long as it is not illegal.

Plus, is it true that you need $10,000 to support yourself on entering the country if you arrive as a skilled worker?YES, it is one of the criterion, you need to have these funds readily available.What can this consist of? I do not have any savings left as I have been travelling for 2 years in Canada and New Zealand, but have plenty of credit left on my credit cards and a couple of thousand pounds I could take out of my mortgage if I was desperate... London CIC, accepts property as proof of funds. Again, download your country specific instruction Brochure.

Thanks and looking forward to your answers.

You are welcome and Good Luck.

Mia

[Leon]

You don't have to work as a midwife when you get to Canada.  If you want to work as a midwife, you would have to get licensed but nobody will make you get licensed if you are not planning to work as one.  You could get licensed as an LPN (practical nurse) if you want to.  It's not too hard to get licensed for that and the money is ok although not as good as an RN.

[midwifemia]

Thank you so much for your responses. I just want to clarify one point.

Leon said:

If you want to work as a midwife, you would have to get licensed but nobody will make you get licensed if you are not planning to work as one.

But BobbyB said:

If I apply as a skilled worker for my midwifery qualification and experience, do I HAVE to get registered as a midwife when I arrive in Canada? YES

 - so would it be a requirement of my PR that I apply for registration as a midwife (which I do not intend to do)? Or is would the PR be granted purely on the basis that I have that qualification and work experience, regardless of whether I apply for my midwifery registration when I actually arrive?

Finally I wanted to ask if it is possible for me to apply in London and then accompany my boyfriend to Canada on a 6 month visitor's visa while I await the decision? Or is there another visa I need to apply for in order to stay in Canada pending the outcome of my application?

Thanks guys, I'm finding the CIC website very hard to navigate so I really appreciate your help on this.

Mia

[Leon]

I think Bobby means that you need to register as a midwife if you want to work as one.

Your PR is granted because you have that education and work experience.  Once you arrive in Canada, nobody will make you register for anything.  It will be totally up to you if you work and what jobs you apply for.  I speak from experience as I myself decided to change careers after arriving in Canada and never worked for as much as a day in the profession that got me in.

You can go to Canada as a visitor while your are applying for PR.  If you want to stay longer than 6 months, you can apply for an extension.

[BobbyB]

I think Bobby means that you need to register as a midwife if you want to work as one.

Yes Leon. That is exactly what I meant. Sorry Mia for the misunderstanding.

Your PR is granted because you have that education and work experience.  Once you arrive in Canada, nobody will make you register for anything.  It will be totally up to you if you work and what jobs you apply for.  I speak from experience as I myself decided to change careers after arriving in Canada and never worked for as much as a day in the profession that got me in.

You can go to Canada as a visitor while your are applying for PR.  If you want to stay longer than 6 months, you can apply for an extension.

[midwifemia]

Thanks guys, you might just have made my year!

Mia

:-D